


Black Sun on the Horizon

by JamLabs



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Blood and Injury, Body Horror, Eldritch Abominations, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Metal Gear Ghost Babel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:20:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28443810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamLabs/pseuds/JamLabs
Summary: A post-apocalypse au, set 8 years after the apocalyptic event in question. The world is a broken mess, and between an organization harnessing eldritch beings to power the remains of the upper class while the common man struggles to survive, radiation, and the earth reclaiming her land, a scientist trapped underground for most of his life comes into contact with a being promising to help him escape.There's also a cowboy collecting adults with powers (and a tank), two idiots with swords deciding to take down the remains of a government, a blonde scavenger dealing with accidentally letting out something he shouldn't have, a botanist with a shotgun, and an eldritch being sealed under a waffle house.
Relationships: Chris Jenner & Solid Snake, Otacon & Solid Snake, Otacon/Solid Snake, Will update tags as I go - Relationship, at least the crush is there. I like slowburn so no actual romance yet
Comments: 9
Kudos: 20





	1. a scientist falls asleep on a rock

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my post-apocalypse au! It has a mix of both funnee elements and serious elements, but the main theme of the work is a bunch of non human things falling in love with humanity :]  
> Feel free to shoot me questions at my tumblr (@JamLabs) :]

Hal has been down here for as long as he can remember. Stone and steel corridors, walls, and rooms. His life is filled with dullness, with the same cool colors and same routine. He wakes up in his bed, dresses himself, and walks down to his father’s quarters. Waits for his father to wake, and goes to the cafeteria with him. They eat powdered eggs and toast, and maybe if they’re lucky, a fresh fruit or a single slice of bacon. One cafe worker always tries to slip him more food. She whispers that he’s too skinny, too small. That he should eat more. His father always notices. He doesn’t ever get more. His father takes him to the room with the huge stone slab in it. He examines it, and tells Hal what he needs to do with it. Examine the rock. Test the rock. Make sure the nodes are always connected, make sure the wires that spill all over the floors and into the hallways, remain connected. Don’t ever touch the black box that sits at the rock’s side. 

His father releases him at the same time after the same speech. He runs through the grey halls back to his grey quarters and throws himself into the only thing that brings color to his life. The videos from the world above. Ones about space, and princesses being rescued, and giant robots and girls with cute dresses fighting evil. The TV set was a gift from someone he can’t remember. Someone his father refuses to talk about. Someone who left him behind. He wishes he were on the surface. One movie always stood out to him. His father handed the case over for his birthday one year, saying that it was his favorite. He wanted to hate it, but... The movie has him in it. Given, he’s a robot who’s trying to kill a human, but sometimes he can relate too much to the helpless AI forced to do what its program demands. The struggle and humanity behind the machine. 

He’s called back once his father is done with the tasks he’s not allowed to see. They go to the cafeteria to eat lunch. A sandwich, or a salad. The other researchers look harried and worried all the time. They give him glances and whisper to each other. Hal hates it. He hates being looked at like that. His father takes him to “school.” There are other children in there too, all about the same age as him. The teacher is older. He looks like one of the scientists in their books, and all the children like him. Hal almost wishes that he was his dad instead of his actual father. His actual father uses him as a test subject after school. It hurts. Hal doesn’t like it. 

After his tests, they go to dinner. Some sort of meat, and vegetable. His father talks with other adults, especially the female scientists. Hal is dismissed as soon as he’s finished eating, and he runs off to his room. Hal is actually allowed to watch more of his shows, and he throws himself into it. He goes to bed when the electricity is shut off. He never dreams. 

Everyone in the facility remembers the exact day the world ended. Hal was seventeen. He was sitting in the classroom with the rest of the seventeen year olds, thinking more about how unfair it is that one of his classmates got to leave that morning. They at least got to see the sun. He’d been doodling planets on his paper when the siren went off. His eyes went wide under his glasses and the professor dropped his tablet. It shattered on the ground, but his professor didn’t seem to care. “Quickly,” the professor said. His voice quivered with terror. “Follow me.” All the children ran after him, the adults spilling out of their labs at the blaring of the siren, a sea of people that flowed towards one single room. A room reinforced with concrete and steel. A room lined with fluorescent strips, a room impenetrable by anything. He was sandwiched between a really cute girl that he’d been quietly crushing on and a boy just as rail thin as he was. All the adults muttered to each other, counting heads as sirens continued to blare. The door is locked, and the noise shut off completely. All he could hear was the sound of breathing, people shuffling, a cough or two as seconds ticked by. 

There was a sudden ringing in Hal’s ears. He found himself on the ground, and he realized he didn’t know how he got there. People were screaming and crying, and he could hear explosions. He could  _ hear  _ explosions, hear them through layers of ground, through layers of steel. It went on for hours. One of his classmates pulled him into a circle they made, all the children huddling around each other for comfort. Even those who didn’t like him suddenly tolerated him. It was life or death. They were scared. The bombs continued for hours. He can remember every second of that day, every time someone in their circle left and the all consuming fear and worry that surrounded the group until they came back. The taste of ash under his tongue, despite being safe underground. The sounds of crying. The feeling of cold metal beneath his palms, and knees. He remembers everything. 

He wishes he could forget. 

It’s been eight years in the bunker. Eight years since the end of the world. He’s twenty-five now. He still hasn’t seen the surface. Most of his classmates have either become like him, successors to their parents, forced into the same jobs they had to do for the sake of the community, or have escaped entirely. Run off to the above, dodging guards and scientists, running to whatever remains of the world above. His father told him it was far too dangerous. He’d been up to the surface, installing cameras and facial ID and weaponry to keep people out. Hal’s routine became easy once he took over his father’s job. He watches the stone slab with a glowing red sigil every day, and makes sure it’s hooked up to the nodes and wires that monitor it. He wakes up, eats, sits and watches the rock, performs his tests, watches the rock again, and goes back to his room to watch anime and movies. It’s his only escape. He knows every plot point, every character, every arc, and almost every line by heart at this point. 

He never gets much sleep. He stays wrapped up in his blankets, far away from the cold monotony that is his life. 

It’s one mistake that sets everything in motion. 

The morning announcements come on and Hal blinks out of his haze. He’d been watching  _ 2001  _ again. He hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. Or how early? He yawns and shrugs off his blanket, stretching his far too lanky limbs. His elbows and back pop as he stretches, and his knees crack when he stands. He adjusts his glasses and briefly thinks about taking a quick nap before going to work, but he can’t. He needs to eat and check on the rock. Hal pulls on a labcoat over his comfortable grey sweater and exits his room, making sure to lock it behind him. The walk to the cafeteria isn’t very long. It takes maybe three minutes to traverse the long steel halls, ever expanding with how much the facility has grown during his time here. He’s lucky he’s been able to keep his room from when he first started living here over twenty years ago. The cafeteria is offering eggs (again) and toast (again) and Hal eagerly eats, easily ignoring all the other people in the room. He hurries to the lab. His father opens the door and wheels himself out. Hal freezes. His father looks at him and smiles, something crooked. “I was just checking on your progress,” he says. “Making sure you weren’t making any mistakes.” 

“Y-yes,” Hal stammers. “Th-thank you.” He wrings his hands together. Why was his father here? He hadn’t done anything wrong! He hadn’t done anything wrong at all! He did exactly as he was trained to do, he’s doing exactly as he’s told. He hasn’t even made an attempt to leave, unlike his peers. He’s good. He’s doing the right thing. 

His father nods. “I have good news for you, Hal.” He says, hands perfectly still in his lap. 

Hal’s eyes go wide. “You do?” He asks, before immediately feeling foolish. He grips at the bottom of his sweater, rubbing the material to try and help his mounting anxiety. 

“The higher-ups are considering bringing you on board.” His father seems pleased. “You’re going to be a Patriot soon.” Hal can’t find any words, so he just nods. His father rolls by and gives him a pat on the back. Hal is just barely able to stop himself from wincing. He waits until he can no longer hear the squeak of wheels on steel. He breathes in for four seconds. Holds it for seven seconds. Breathes out for six. 

In. 

Hold. 

Out. 

He breathes until he feels his heart rate settle and the exhaustion seep back into his bones. Hal cautiously opens the door back up, and closes it. He’s alone. Thank god. He sags against the door and breathes some more. 

In. 

Hold. 

Out. 

He pushes himself off the wall and runs a hand through his already disheveled hair. He’s fine. He’s fine! He’s okay. He’s okay. He can finish the checkup and take a nap. It’s going to be easy. Hal steps over wires, steps over the little black box touching the stone slab. He puts his hand on the stone and brushes off a little dust. He doesn’t know why this is his job, but he knows better than to ask questions. The red lines glow just as bright as ever. There are no cracks, no defects in the rock. Electricity is flowing normally, all the mysterious gauges and clickers are normal. Hal sighs and sits down, leaning against the rock for a moment. He’s so bored of this place. He wants to see the surface so badly. 

His eyes drift shut against his will. He fights to keep them open, but sleep hits him like a freight train and he passes out, slumped over, leaning against the stone. 

Hal blinks open his eyes to black _.  _ He floats in space, perfectly aware of himself, and exactly how small he is. He’s tiny compared to the vast expanse. He absentmindedly notes that he’s in the same clothes he fell asleep in. He looks around. There’s nothing here, not really. Just space for as far as his eyes can see. He thinks for a moment. He hasn’t had a dream in a long, long time. This has to be what his books and movies called lucid dreaming. He can control this, right? He closes his eyes and pictures a planet right in front of him. Orange and brown, red and cream lines, a dot of an eye. He imagines a monolith floating in orbit with the rest of its moons. He opens his eyes. Color fills his vision, hues of orange, red, yellow, pink, blue, all flowing around him, almost shifting. The orange almost looks… like… 

A massive eye opens on the almost-human face of whatever’s in front of him. Two irises, nearly melting together, both blazing blue, snap to him. Eyes all over the thing’s face open, all looking at him. He fights back the urge to scream. This is all a dream. It isn’t real. The thing tilts its head. Two golden crescents stick out of the side of its head, right around where its ears would be. Black void dots the left side of its face, allowing Hal to see stars inside. 

“H...Hello,” he says timidly. The thing blinks at him. It tilts its head, and its face splits open into what Hal assumes is supposed to be a mouth. 

“Hello.” It says. “Who are you?” The voice is deep and rough. 

Hal swallows. “My name is Hal,” he says. “Who are you?” The thing shrugs, and he only nods, too anxious to try and say anything else. 

“How did you get here?” It asks. It shifts, and Hal sees blue flutter in space, almost as if it’s wearing some sort of cloth over it’s forehead. He can’t look too long at its sides, all bright colors and shifting patterns, color flowing like watercolor paint in an ocean of stars. It’s beautiful. It’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. The thing smiles at him and his attention snaps back to it. He blushes, and then is promptly confused as to why he did. He shakes his head and attempts to get back into his own head. 

“This… This is a dream, isn’t it?” He asks. The thing blinks at him. Part of it’s horn seems to snake around his body, the sharp point smoothing out into a ribbon of yellow fading into orange and red, eyes covering every part, and each looking at him. 

The thing makes a noise, some sound that almost sounds like “hrrnh”. It nods its head. “A dream. Yes. A dream.” Hal wills himself closer. His coat flaps behind him, but it doesn’t feel like he’s moving. The thing blinks in a hypnotic pattern, eyes closing and opening back up in a wave motion. “You… You’re not scared?” 

“No,” Hal breathes. He’s not scared of whatever this is. It’s beautiful. Colors that bleed out into the stars, eyes that are multitudinous but kind, an almost angelic presence. “Should I be?”

Its mouth cracks into a smile. “No,” it says. “You shouldn’t be afraid.” 

Hal reaches his hand out. He feels a feather light touch on the back of his hand, and sees colors flowing over it. This is the strangest, and yet most real dream he’s ever had. He watches with fascination as he’s examined, his hand being turned in the undefined grasp of this being. “I can’t believe I thought of this…” He whispers to himself. He didn’t think he could dream like this. He didn’t think he  _ could  _ dream. The thing pauses. He looks down and sees his feet beginning to fade. “Wh-what’s happening?!” He panics. 

“You’re waking up.” It says. The touch to his hand vanishes as the fading accelerates. “Don’t tell anyone what you saw. I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

Hal blinks. “Get hurt?” 

“They might hurt you if they heard. Don’t tell anyone.” 

Hal wakes up with a protest on his lips. He reaches up to rub his eyes, yawning slightly. He’s still really tired. He abruptly realizes he fell asleep up against the thing he’s supposed to be working on and shoots up to his feet, stumbling on wires. The dream of color lingers. He tugs at the hem of his sweater and hurries over to check the machines. Whatever they’re tracking has  _ spiked.  _ It still says the containment isn’t close to being breached, but there was a spike in activity and it  _ stayed active.  _ It’s now settling back down into inactivity and Hal fidgets with his sweater again. Did he do that? Did he make all the readings go wild for the first time in all the years he’s been here? 

He shakes it off. Everything is normal now. He didn’t fail, or mess up, or anything. He’s fine. Everything is fine. The announcement system crackles on and announces that lunch is being served. He stumbles into the cafeteria with a yawn, grabbing a sandwich and eating alone. He’s got to do the afternoon tests on the rock and then he’s free for the evening. One of his old classmates shoots him a concerned look that he waves off with a small smile. He’s fine, don’t worry, he tries to say. Nobody looks at him after that. He brings his plate back to the kitchen to be washed and goes back to his station. Everything is the same as usual. The earlier spike has been buried under the now expected inactivity. Hal sits in a chair and watches the rock, trying not to fall asleep. He keeps his eyes on the monitors, gets up to check the attached wires and nodes, sits back down to monitor things again, and repeats until dinner is called. He stretches and walks back to the cafeteria. They’re serving breaded chicken today. It’s pretty good. He once again eats alone, in silence. He finishes quickly, turns in his plate and silverware, and walks back to his room. He falls into bed immediately after brushing his teeth. His coat is in a heap on the floor. He would rather start a new anime, but he knows that his level of exhaustion will affect his work even more tomorrow. 

Hal takes his glasses off and lets his eyes drift shut. 

He opens them to color. He’s in front of that thing again, the thing he dreamed about in the morning. “Hello,” He says cautiously. He didn’t think he’d have a dream like this again. He didn’t think he’d have this dream again, ever. How is he here again? How come he remembers it? 

“Hello.” It responds. “I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.” It shifts, the blue and brown that he thinks might be hair and cloth of some kind floating up as it gets to eye level with Hal. “Did you fall asleep on my rock again?” 

“Your rock?” Hal asks. “Wait you mean--” He furrows his brow and looks up at the thing. “You’re in that thing?" It makes another sound, something affirming that settles in Hal’s bones. He shakes his head. “No. I’m… I’m in my bed.” 

He looks down at himself. He doesn’t have his coat. Just his sweater, which is a brighter blue than he’s ever seen. “Huh…” It says. Its colors shift in a new way, orange body flowing into a minty green that gives off the air of curiosity. “I can reach you from here.” There’s a tug at his sweater and he has the feeling it’s supposed to be in affection. 

“How did you… get in there?” He asks. 

“I was forced in.” It says. It gestures despite not seeming to have arms. “Sealed away by the Patriots.” The name sends a shiver down Hal’s spine. The Patriots… That’s what he’s supposed to be. That’s what his father wants him to become. The eyes shift to look directly at him. “Do you know what they do?” Hal shakes his head. He doesn’t, not really. He figured he’d be told when he was inducted. He knows better than to question his father. “I don’t either.” 

Oh. He had hoped this thing knew what he was getting into. What he was being forced into. “Oh.” He says. 

“It’s okay,” It says. Its voice is strangely comforting. It pauses for a moment “I don’t think I can reach anyone else. Just you.” 

Hal wets his lips. “What are you?” He asks. It feels almost wrong to ask, like he’s being invasive. But he needs to know what he’s done. What he’s made contact with. What’s trapped inside that rock. 

“Something made of stardust,” it says. “Something from far away. Boss sent us down here to grow. Humans are… unique. They’re inventive, and cruel, and kind. Their belief makes us stronger. We were supposed to come down, be like one of you. Gain power. Grow.” 

“Us?” 

The thing nods. “Me and my--” it makes a sound that makes Hal’s head spin. His brain parses it as ‘sibling’. Maybe ‘brother’? “We’re down here. Stuck.” It smiles in a wry way. “I can’t convince you to let me out, can I?” 

Hal hesitates. If he gets it out, then maybe he can see the sun. Maybe he can… He takes a deep breath. “What can I call you? If you’re going to keep contacting me, then… Then you should at least have a name.” 

It blinks at him. “I never had a name.” 

Hal smiles, despite himself. “How about… David? Hal and Dave?” 

“Dave.” It says. “David.” It nods. “I like it. Hal and Dave.” 

He wants to escape. He wants to get out so badly. And he has to free whatever David is to do it, then so be it. He and Dave are going to escape this place. Together. 


	2. dream sweet (or don't)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hal learns more about his eldritch friend (?), and others begin to dream.

The next time he wakes he feels refreshed. Everything seems easier. His body is less heavy, his mind clearer. He doesn’t feel happy, but he does feel lighter. His sleep is usually dreamless, but he sometimes finds it interrupted by David. He’s deliberately fallen asleep on the stone where David claims to be, and always dreams of him. He’s learned a lot about whatever it is that’s trapped in the stone. 

David has a sibling. A twin. David speaks fondly of its sibling, but calls them an idiot. It says that the ones who sealed it away, the Patriots, got to its sibling first. And when it went to rescue them, it got captured too. David doesn’t care what pronouns Hal uses for it. It says it presented as male back when it had a body, so Hal can call it a ‘he’ if he wants. David is really young by his own terms. (He says that he doesn’t know how old his mother is. He does know that she is huge, spanning galaxies when she stretches and dwarfing stars.) David’s favorite color is blue. David has never seen an anime. 

Hal decides to fix that immediately. 

He starts with one of his all time favorites, a mecha anime that deals with piercing the sky. David listens in rapt attention, soaking up the information like a sponge. It makes him feel good. It makes him feel special. It makes it feel like he finally has a friend. He sits or floats in the vast expanse of space where he meets David, and talks for what feels like hours. And he always wakes up well rested. It’s amazing! He rewatches the show in his spare time, making sure to get all the details correct so he can relay it perfectly to David. David gets really invested in it too. Every night that he manages to connect with David he picks up where he left off, detailing each episode as best he can, before moving on to the next one. 

They spend months in that routine. One day, he realizes that David has been with him every night for the past week. He tells David this the next time they meet, and David smiles at him. “I’m connected to you.” He says. “I know you, and you know me.” Hal feels a blush rise to his face. He’s glad. He likes having a friend. 

Hal feels less cold these days. He walks to his station with a skip in his step, always tries to go to sleep instead of keeping himself awake to escape. Sleep is his new escape. He just has to close his eyes and David will catch him. David is truly kind. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He wants to help Hal escape, just as much as he wants to escape the stone prison he’s been trapped in for hundreds of years. Hal understands. Being in his own stone prison made him lose all hope, and his time was much shorter than David’s. 

He’s humming as he walks to his station. His walk is interrupted by his father only halfway to the lab. “Hal.” The man says. His heart slams in his chest and he freezes. Oh god. He knows. He knows he knows he knows he knows he knows-- “The Patriots are seriously considering my offer. They think you’d be a good addition to our ranks.” His father grins at him and winks. “Maybe then you’d get to know what’s so special about that rock!” 

Hal isn’t able to move. A Patriot. The same thing that put David in that rock. He-- “Thank you,” he hears himself say. “I’m very excited!” 

His father smiles at him again. “I’m proud of you.” He says. “You know that, right?” 

He nods stiffly. He remains standing in the hallway as his father monologues, and long after his father has wheeled away. He feels sick. He moves, body completely numb. He walks to his station and does the usual checks. Everything is normal. He feels despair wash over him. He’s so stupid. He’s never getting out of here. He doesn’t know how to get David out, even if he wanted to get David out. He’s stuck, he’s going to die down here and he’s never going to see the surface, he’s never going to see a sunrise or the desert or the ocean or even an insect. His father tells him it’s too dangerous. Things have only gotten worse as the years progressed. Raiders. Scavengers. He thinks there might be truth to the man’s words. He hears the firing of the defense mechanisms at the entrance of the base every now and then. He realizes he’s spaced out only when an announcement comes over the PA system, calling for a member specializing in repairs. Apparently the industrial fridge is broken. Hal stands and moves over to David’s prison. He checks the wires, checks the nodes, checks the little black box at the side of the rock. He doesn’t even know what this is for. He doesn’t even know what they’re doing to David. Hal pulls at his hair. He doesn’t know what his job is! He doesn’t know what he’s doing here! He doesn’t know his purpose, or why his father trapped him underground, or why David was sealed away in the first place! 

He sniffs, feeling tears coming on. Why is he so weak? Why can’t he take control of his own destiny? Why can’t he escape? He wants to leave so badly. He wants to be free. He tenderly brushes the front of the stone slab. His body crumples to his knees at the overwhelming presence of something otherworldly making itself known in his head. “Are you okay?!” David asks, the worry in his voice obvious. 

Hal wipes his face. “I’m fine,” he lies. He can feel David frown. “Just… just dust.” 

“No you’re not.” David says. He feels tender hands pull him into sitting down. “What happened? Who hurt you? Do you want me to kill them?”

He shakes his head. “It’s…” He chokes back a sob. “My father.” He says. 

He has the distinct feeling of David narrowing his eyes. “I’ll kill him for you.” 

“No! Please don’t kill my father.” He can’t stop the tears now. He’s hiccuping, futility wiping his eyes. He can't see. “I… I d-don’t know…” 

“Shh…” David pauses, before humming a melody. It surrounds him, sinks deep within his soul. It makes him think of stars and galaxies, something comforting and soft. A blanket made of the universe. It covers his shoulders. It protects him. His sniffling and crying slowly tapers off as David hums to him. He dries his eyes on the sleeve of his sweater and cleans the tears off his glasses.

“I d-don’t know what I’m doing here.” Hal manages. “Why… why I’m doing these things. What all this is for.” 

David mutters something he doesn’t understand. “It’s to keep me in check.” He directs Hal to look at the machines. They’re going wild, activity spiking off the graphs. “I don’t care if they know I’m active.” He pauses for a moment. “I’m going to get you out of here.” 

Hal focuses on the first statement. “Keep you in check?” 

“Keep me from…” David pauses. “Keep me from getting out. Keep me from hurting humans. Which I don’t want to do!” 

Hal knows he doesn’t want to hurt people. At this point, he doesn’t care if David’s manipulating him, or using him, or whatever. He just wants to get out of here. Death is one way of escape. “I know.” he says. He feels David retreat, backing up as much as he can. David is so kind… 

“I don’t want to hurt you.” David says. “I want to free you.” 

“I know.” Hal wipes at his eyes again. He can’t. Not yet. He can’t get out of this place. He doesn’t have the courage, just yet. He lifts his hand off the rock and David’s voice vanishes from his mind. He steels himself and gets back to work. He doesn’t tell anyone that David’s speaking to him. He just points out the unusual activity to one of the other scientists, and goes on with his routine. His supervisor shows up, looks at the readings, and immediately calls in multiple other people. They give him appraising looks, and shoo him out of the room. Hal feels his stomach tie in knots. 

It's the first time in a while he's been unable to sleep. 

His father gives him two months before the Patriots will select him. He knows it’s meant to be an honor. It just feels like another shackle. 

Hal is distracted, nervous, anxious. Ever since his supervisor came by, David stopped visiting. Was it something he did? Did he mess up? Did he make it so David couldn't reach him at all? In his worries he accidentally kicks the little black box that rests by the stone as he's pacing. A red light blinks on. Nobody notices. 

It's been nearly three weeks since his supervisor and the others (who he assumes are Patriot members) showed up, and David still hasn't come back. All the graphs that track him are quiet, everything low and only barely moving. He hasn’t dared touch David’s stone again. When he sleeps, it’s fitful. He wakes up multiple times before the morning announcement goes off. He puts off sleeping with anime and movies. He’s terrified of being found out. He's terrified of people knowing that David is awake, and it's his fault. He ends up drifting off while watching a new show, the music lulling him to sleep.

David is there when he begins to dream. "I don't know what you did," David says, "but I can reach people other than you." Hal's eyes go wide. He… he doesn't remember doing anything! Nothing has changed about his routine, except him dodging sleep. But he did that for years before he met David, it couldn't have changed anything now. There was no sign of him doing anything wrong! His breathing picks up and David's eyes all go wide. 

"I did something wrong?!" Hal squeaks. What if his father finds out? What will he do? What will the Patriots do now that he's messed up? Oh God. He can feel the panic coming on. 

David closes his eyes and hums that same tune as before. It makes his head feel full, too full to think and to worry. His breathing evens out. "You didn't do anything wrong," David says. "It might not even have been you. But something changed. And now I can see into the dreams of others." 

"What do you mean?" He says. He sits down in the vast expanse of stars. It feels like forever since he's been here. It's comforting though. Like a second home. "You couldn't before..?" 

David shakes his head. Blue flits and flickers through space around him. His golden horns reflect the sharp blue of his eyes, and the darker blue of the maybe bandana. "It’s hard." David's entire form shifts, the rainbow aurora around his body flowing to new shades. "But I found someone. She says she's a Sergeant." He pauses again. “She says that she saw me a while ago... But she could only speak to me recently. I told her my name.” 

Hal fidgets with the bottom of his sweater. His name... The one that _he_ picked out. “Are.. are you going to contact others…?” There _are_ others? They're not the only ones left…? But that doesn't make sense. They were the only ones that survived whatever happened the world above. Going topside is a death sentence. He shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He believes David. 

David shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so.” Hal breathes a sigh of relief. It might be selfish of him, but he wants to keep David to himself. This is his only friend. It's something for him, and him alone to worry about and care for. He doesn’t want to let David go. “I don’t want to risk you. It’s just… good to know.” 

Hal nods, relieved. “Do you want to continue Evangelion tonight?” He can't help the hope in his voice. 

David settles down. He doesn’t know how he can tell that David’s settling, seeing as the only thing that changes about his visual appearance is the blue fluttering slightly less, and the colors feeling more dense, more compact. It honestly hurts his head trying to think about how David works. “Can you do a recap?” He asks. 

“Of course!” Hal launches into a quick recap of the show, catching David up to where he last left off as best he can. David’s eyes are all focused on him, paying close attention and absorbing the information as best he can. He occasionally interrupts, clarifying some points, making theories, making his rumbling noises when something interests or confuses him. It's wonderful to have a listener so enthralled with the words he's spinning. 

They spend the evening like that. Completely engrossed in the media Hal is sharing, the story told in as much detail as possible for the thing that he’s somehow calling a friend. 

One of his old classmates confronts him in the cafeteria. He’s sitting alone like he usually does, trying to eat his bagel and thinking about his last dream. David was so engrossed in the story that he seemed almost disappointed to see Hal wake up. “Hal.” He starts, his shoulders going up to protect his neck and the bagel falling to his plate. Once he sees it's just one of his fellow scientists, he forces his shoulders down. 

“Y-yes?” No one ever approaches him. Why is someone talking to him? 

The woman shuffles in place. Her shoes are bright blue. It's strange to see something so colorful in a place like this. “I… I just had to know. Did you dream last night?” 

Hal scoots away. “Why?” He feels put off guard, off balance. Why is he being asked? Does she know? Do any of them know? How could they know? Why would they be asking if they knew? It doesn't make sense. 

“I did.” Hal pauses. She… she had a dream? “I’ve started having dreams… I can’t remember dreaming when I was a kid. Or… at all, really.” 

“Me neither.” He says. He didn't start dreaming until he met David. 

“All of us did,” She gestures back to the group of scientists gathered at one circular table. “We all dreamt last night. Jules remembers dreaming as far back as February 12th. I can’t remember it now, but I remember dreaming. We just wanted to know if it was the same for you.” February... That's when David left him for a while. And he still dreamt. Not of David, but of something else. 

Hal nods. “Y-yeah.” He stammers. “I did too. Do you think…” He lowers his voice and quickly scans the room before speaking. “Something broke?” 

The woman’s eyes go wide behind rectangular glasses. The idea is almost impossible to think of. Their base runs perfectly. There are no mistakes, everything runs on schedule and everything runs as intended. Broken things get fixed instantly. There’s no way that something broke and wasn’t fixed. “I…” Her voice is soft, hesitant. “I don’t know.” 

Hal almost reaches out, but holds himself back. She's just as scared as he is of the management finding out. “I don’t think it’s… that bad?” He says, cautious. She shakes her head in agreement. 

“It’s beautiful.” She hesitates. “We… we all dream of the surface.” 

His throat tightens. Ever since David left, he's done the same. Pictures from his textbooks, stories the adults told him when he was a child. Strange, incomprehensible places and events. He remembers being on a cargo ship. He's never been on a boat before. “Me too.” 

The words are unspoken between them, but it sits heavy in the air. They all want to escape. Every child born and grown here, every adult trapped here for most of their life. They want to get out. They want to be free. 

And as the woman walks away, Hal makes up his mind.

“If I were to free you, how would I do it?” He asks. 

David blinks at him. “What?” 

“You heard me.” Hal says. He feels stronger than he ever has. Knowing that he'd be helping the others, just by letting David go free and interrupting the airtight control that the Patriots have this place, gives him that strength. “How would I free you?” 

David moves down to be at eye level with Hal. “Are you safe? Are the Patriots threatening you?” 

“No,” Hal says. He still has a month to go before his father takes him to Patriots. A month before he's permanently chained down. “I just… I want to know. For when I do make my decision.” 

The grin David has spits his face in a truly unnatural way. “It sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.” 

“I haven’t!” He protests. He has. He just needs a good time. He’s being watched too closely because of David’s activity. 

David reaches out a tendril of color, taking his hand. "You need to break the seal." David says. His voice is everywhere, and yet seems to only be whispering to him. "A little bit of blood will do. And the will to let me out." 

"Blood..?" Hal tenses. He doesn't want to hurt himself. But if it lets David out… 

"It has to be a human, completely willing. It's made by humans, powered by humans. The only way to get out is if one of you lets us out, or if all humans die. Then we'd all be released. And we'd go join our Boss." David's voice is a low rumble. He sounds completely unconcerned with the possible extinction of his species. Then again…. If what the adults say, they might be the only humans left alive. But no, that can't be true. David said he got into contact with a woman from the outside. 

"You won't… you won't kill us, right?" Hal asks. All the things he's seen flash through his head, warnings of making deals with things he doesn't understand, things that aren't human. 

"Never." David says. "I love life. I love humanity." 

"You threatened to kill my father." 

David has the good grace to look sheepish. "Most of humanity." He amends. "Not the men who lurk in the shadows, playing chess with the lives and hearts of people." His eyes narrow. "The Patriots are those men." 

"And what if I become one of them?" He asks. What if he can't get to David in time? What if he becomes something that David hates? 

David blinks. "You won't." He says. "Being a Patriot is more than just being inducted into the group." He makes one of his noises. "It requires intent. You have to want to keep yourself in power. You have to keep playing with the common people, playing with those who have no choice to listen. Give up everything you are for power and control. That's what a Patriot is." 

"Ah…" Hal fidgets with his hands. He knows that was intended to lessen his anxiety, but it doesn't help all that much.

"I won't hurt you." David says. His voice is gentle. "I promised to help you out, remember?" 

He does.

He takes a breath.

"So I just… bleed on the rock and you come out?" 

"Something like that, yeah." David's eyes close. "Break the circle and break the seal. That's all." 

"That's all." Hal repeats. 

He just has to find the right moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bonus points if you know who David contacted ;] (and no, it is not an OC, she's semi-canon to mgs)   
> thanks for reading!


	3. This time tomorrow, we will be free

Hal works hard the next two weeks planning for his escape. He packs a bag and hides it under his bed. It’s got spare clothes, his copy of  _ 2001 _ , a blanket or two, and some toiletries he managed to convince the sanitation worker he needed. The bag is hidden. No one would find it unless they knew where it was. He considers packing food, but he’d have to sneak into the kitchen to find any sort of canned goods, or anything that would keep for weeks. He doesn’t know when he’ll be able to make his escape. He doesn’t know when he’ll be able to leave at all. 

It could be weeks, it could be days. He honestly doesn’t know. The important thing is that he’s ready, and that he can get his stuff before they escape. He wonders how David is going to escape with him. Will David be as unknowable and nebulous as he is in Hal’s head? Will he be solid, able to be guided away from this horrible place with a gentle hand? Hal doesn’t know that, either. This escape attempt is going to be so unplanned, so rushed… He’d drive himself into a panic thinking of all the contingencies he’d need, so he stops thinking about it. It’ll happen when it happens, ready or not. Hal’s routine is uninterrupted, minus his stealthy packing of supplies. He spends his time in the lab tinkering, his supervisors still mainly doing his job for him, checking on the energy levels near constantly. He fiddles with parts, taking old machinery apart and putting it back together over and over again, gaining scratches and nicks all over his fingers. His work is as boring as ever, but the new hobby gives him something to pass the time. 

He builds tiny robots, little things that can’t move on their own, but are still cute. He builds things that he’s seen in his shows, and takes it apart and builds something else. They can’t move on their own, not without coding. He knows how, of course he does. His schooling taught him that, and his father filled in the gaps. He doesn’t have the confidence to actually code an AI, to code instructions for his little creations. It doesn’t matter anyway. He takes them apart after building them soon enough, needing something to do with his hands while his usual job is handled and yet he’s still expected to be on site. He stays far away from the rock. 

The other younger scientists invite him to their group, and he joins them. They eat together in the cafeteria during lunch and dinner (breakfast is an iffy time, some like getting coffee and leaving, some eating as much as they can, some skipping all together). They all speak in hushed whispers about their dreams, about color and scents and feelings none of them have seen before. One describes the feeling of walking through a wheat field, the grain shifting around them, their fingers separating the kernels from the spike, their body covered in a thin red and black coat and blue jeans. One describes the deep of the ocean, the feeling of swimming and sinking down into the depths, seeing light and fish that he isn’t sure are real, thermal vents and shrimp and things that shouldn’t survive down there, but somehow do. One speaks of the stars, seeing dots of light and soaring through the universe to touch them all in reverent strokes, the universe singing to her as she travels, seeing planets and galaxies not covered in their coursework in beautiful purples and pinks and blues. Hal is usually quiet, listening to his colleagues? Friends? Talk about their dreams, occasionally pitching in with appreciative comments, with his own dreams from when David doesn’t visit. 

David tells him that he’s helping the others. “Dreams are usually so chaotic,” He says. His eyes gaze at Hal with something akin to compassion. “I’m giving them something good. I’m giving them glimpses of hope.” 

David thinks that once they break out, the others will overpower the staff and follow. That they’ll follow in  _ Hal’s _ footsteps. 

Hal isn’t sure. But the more time he spends with the others he grew up with, he thinks David might be right. They all long for freedom, same as him. They exchange glances when the older generation isn’t looking, when their parents are busy with who knows what. They all want the same thing as he does. 

It gives Hal courage. He’s not doing it for his own selfish needs. He’s doing it for all of them. 

Hal wakes up somewhere he didn’t fall asleep. He’s surrounded by people, their bodies cloaked in dark fabric, faces covered with hoods. His heart jumps into his mouth, his hands grasping at the blanket covering his legs in fear. There are chuckles from around him. “Jumpy, isn’t he?” A man asks. There’s a sigh from somewhere behind him. 

“Unfortunately. We haven’t gotten him to break that habit.” 

One of the shadowy figures shrugs. “You know how bunker kids are.” Another figure shoves them. 

“They lived through the apocalypse, Ames.” They say. “Of course they’re anxious.” They turn to Hal and reach out to him. He shies away from the offered hand. The cloaked figure retracts the offer and steps back into line with the other people. 

“Wh-what is going on?” Hal stutters. 

“Didn’t your father tell you?” Someone says. Hal thinks it might be the one that was scolded earlier, Ames, or something. “You’re going to be a Patriot.” 

His breath freezes in his chest. But he’s supposed to have another two weeks! This isn’t supposed to happen yet! He can’t be here, oh god, how is he supposed to let David out if he’s a Patriot? The very thing that put David  _ in?  _ “H-he told me….” Hal mutters. His hands clench at his sweater. He doesn’t want to be here, he doesn’t want to be this. He doesn’t want whatever being a Patriot is, but he doesn’t have a choice. His choice was made by his father, and he has to go along with it. He stumbles to his feet. It doesn’t really make sense for them to be wearing those robes, he thinks. “Why the robes...?” He questions. 

“Security reasons.” His father says. “So if you decide not to join us, you won’t know our faces. You won’t know our names.” Hal pales. So if he decides no… he won’t know who to look out for. It’s not like he has a choice. “So. You’re not going to back out, will you?” Hal shakes his head, and the Patriots all begin to move, walking slowly into the hallway and then down the hall. He trails close behind, the only thing lighting his way the softly glowing strips on the floor. 

He follows the Patriots to a familiar room. It’s where David is kept. His eyes go wide behind his glasses. Are they going to do something to him? Did they find him out? Do they know of his plans, of the bag stashed secretly under his bed? …What would they do if they did? The Patriots all stop in front of the stone. The red sigil on it pulses softly, casting a bloody light around the room. “Do you know what this is?” One of them asks. 

Hal has to play dumb. He can’t let them know, even if they do know and are just playing with him. “It’s… a rock?” He says slowly. Chuckles surround him. 

“Technically, yes.” One of them says, brushing a hand up against the stone. The sigil glows brighter. “There’s something in this rock. Something old. Something powerful.” They pause. “Have you ever read the works of Lovecraft?” 

Hal nods slowly. “Are you saying…?” 

“Yes.” His father says. “You’ve been guarding something unknowable. Something from far beyond Earth. We’ve been tasked with making sure it doesn’t escape for our lifetimes, and making sure it doesn’t escape in our children’s lifetimes.” 

Another Patriot gestures to the machines lining the walls. “We discovered how to use these beings for our own benefit.” Hal thinks this one might be Ames. Ames stands stiff and straight. “Using their untapped potential for power. We powered so much because of this thing.” Hal has to bite his tongue to keep himself from telling them that “that thing” has a  _ name.  _ That David shouldn’t be  _ used.  _

“It’s for self defense.” Another Patriot says. “We don’t know what this thing wanted with humanity. What it could do to humanity. It could shatter our minds like glass. It could bring governments to their knees without trying.” 

“Aren’t they all gone?” Hal can’t stop the question. He’s been taught that there’s nothing above. Nothing to run to. The only thing left on the surface is death. 

The Patriots all look at each other, and look back to him. “Not all of them.” Ames says. “Washington is still in operation.” He pats the stone. “Got one of these bad boys powering the city. That facility is much nicer than this one.” 

Hal feels like he’s going into shock. He thought they were all that was left. Well, he  _ thought  _ that there were people still alive, but he couldn’t believe it. But here they are, telling him plain as day that people are not only alive, but thriving up on the surface. That they’re living somewhere better than this place. That politicians and governments are still there means there are still people there, too. He  _ has  _ to get out. 

The Patriots talk to him all night, explaining his duties with the new knowledge that David is sealed away in the rock he’s had to study. The wires he has to check are siphoning energy away. The graphs and charts measure the activity of whatever’s in there. The little black box sitting at the edge of the stone prevents dreams, so the thing has no way of reaching out to manipulate a poor soul into freeing it. This whole place is powered not by solar panels like he was taught, but by his friend. Everything is powered by David’s unlimited energy, and the Patriots want to keep it that way. They want to keep him locked away so that they can keep using him as a tool, all under the guise of protecting humanity. The Patriots want to keep him quiet, keep him contained. They praise him for doing such a good job, and that despite the rising activity levels, they’ve kept up a steady stream of power. They tell him that they’ve had records of these spikes before, so don’t worry too much. The elder being will go back to sleep eventually. They know David’s awake, but they don’t know he’s reached anyone. 

Hal needs to get out of here. Immediately. 

The Patriots leave him, his father hanging behind. “I’m sorry I kept you in the dark for so long.” He says. Hal doesn’t respond. “It was for your own good.” Hal squeezes his eyes shut. He doesn’t want to listen to his father anymore. He doesn’t want to hear what he has to say. There’s a pat on his back. “You’re a good boy, Hal. You’re going to fit right in with us. You’re perfect for the job.” 

His father rolls away, leaving Hal alone. The red light spills over his socks. He puts his hand on David’s rock, and willingly allows David into his head. “We need to leave.” He says, voice shaking. “I need to get out of here.” 

A rolling feeling of understanding and acceptance. “Now?” David asks quietly. 

Hal shakes his head. “I can barely see here… I’d trip and then they’d all know.” 

“Tomorrow.” David says. 

“Tomorrow.” He cuts the connection, and goes to his own room, shuffling carefully so that he doesn’t trip over wires. He lies down in his bed and has to wait for sleep to take him. He’s nervous, but determined. He’s going to escape tomorrow. And no one’s going to be able to stop him. He’ll have David by his side. 

They’ll be free.

Hal wakes up. He yawns, his back popping as he stretches. He gets up, changes out of his pajamas, and puts on fresh clothes. He pulls the bag out from under his bed, carefully setting it by the door. He’ll grab it before he goes. He puts his lab coat over his customary blue sweater. On a whim, he checks the date. April 3rd. What a strange day to break free. He spares a long look at what will, if everything goes right, be his old safe haven. His television, his desk. The journals he didn’t pack away. His childish drawings still tacked on the walls. Hal turns away and heads to the cafeteria. He gets a large breakfast and joins what’s become his usual group and feels like he has to say something. He’s leaving the people that have become his friends. They’re all quietly chatting about their dreams, but they fall silent when they see him. 

“I’m…” He pauses. He knows they probably know about his late night recruitment. He leans in, but can’t seem to find the words to communicate that he’s breaking out and leaving. “I’m still dreaming.” He lands on. He’s still dreaming of freedom. Of the surface. Being recruited doesn’t change that. He’s not going to turn them in. A collective sigh of relief goes up. Everyone begins to chat as normal, no longer on guard around him. It feels nice. He'll miss this.   


He finishes his meal, returns the tray, and gives a heartfelt thank you to the worker giving out food. He remembers her trying to give him more as a child, and she still does the same to all the young ones. He makes his way to the lab and gently shuts the door behind him. David’s stone stands as it always does, imposingly large in front of him. He’s alone, for the first time in weeks. His half finished inventions lie on the table, one crushed on the ground. Hal takes a deep breath. 

Break the seal. 

He finds a Swiss army knife he left on the desk for his tinkering. He’s nervous. So, so nervous. But he has to do this. He can feel his heart beating, sound roaring in his ears, his steps echoing as he walks up to where David is locked away. He flicks open the knife tool and slowly lowers it to his palm. Just a little bit of blood. Enough to break the circle. That’s all he needs. He’s about to prick his palm when he hears a siren go off. He whips around, looking at the entrance. An… An intruder? How? No one is supposed to get in, no one is supposed to be able to enter, ever. They’ve got security, guns, facial ID, or so his father told him. There are shouts and the thumps of boots against steel, and curses as someone trips over wires. Hal turns his attention back to David. He raises the tool again and blinks when he sees blood on the blade. 

He’s already bleeding. He must have accidentally cut open his hand when he was distracted by the siren. Hal takes a deep breath. He places his hand to the rock, the cut stinging as the sigil glows blindingly bright. It drips down from his hand, leaking  _ into  _ the stone, the gray color becoming tinted with red. The perfect circle of the seal is interrupted. 

There’s a hesitation. 

The air seems to still, and all sound cuts off. 

_ Crack.  _

The rock cracks open like an egg, a void black split down the middle. The symbol completely vanishes, and Hal’s eyes are filled with color, endless shifting hues and his mind struggles to understand everything that he sees come out of the stone. Sound rushes back as the door slams open, but Hal can barely see. The colors flow out of the rock and surround him, solidifying. Bright orange fades to brown, searing yellow to gold, swirls taking a solid form in front of him as the color around his hands becomes hands in itself. 

After what feels like an eternity, everything stops. And David is there. 

He almost looks like a person. Tanned skin, dark hair kept out of his face with a blue bandana. Strong hands, and… Hal blushes. David looks  _ strong.  _ But there are two golden horns that sprout out of the side of his head, framing him almost as if he were an angel. Three eyes, all electric blue, the left with an iris that melts into a second iris. Two eyes look at him, the slightly offset one below the left eye looking behind him. The hands holding his squeeze softly. “Thank you.” David says. His voice is just like how Hal heard before. Deep, rough, and only barely human. 

Someone clears their throat. Hal looks up from their intertwined hands and sees a woman standing there, a slight dust of pink to her cheeks over the purple bandana. “This is cute and all,” she says, “But unless you wanna get stuck back in that rock, we’d better get outta here.” 

There’s a shout from behind her, but the woman seems unconcerned. She only looks at them expectantly. David is the first to move, letting go of Hal’s hands and walking towards her. He turns back to Hal. “We can trust her.” He says, and Hal joins them. 

The woman leads the way down the halls, a weapon in her hands, her long ponytail whipping behind her when she breaks into a sprint. David has to grab the back of her jacket to stop her from running past Hal’s room, and Hal darts into his room to grab his bag. He does a quick check over, before running out the door without a single look back. They sprint until they reach the exit where dozens of guards are waiting. The woman peeks around the corner and fires her gun, ducking back and cursing as bullets fly past. “Dammit,” she mumbles. “Can get in a highly secured Patriot facility without a problem, but can’t get out.” 

“How did you even--” Hal starts but she waves a hand at him. 

“I’ll tell you once we’re out of here.” She looks him over. “You know how to use a gun? Either of you?” Hal shakes his head but David tilts his head. The light hits him strangely. His shadow is all wrong. 

“I can.” He says. “But I have to do something first.” 

“Well, do it!” The woman says, firing another round down the hallway. David takes a deep breath and puts a hand on her head. The woman’s eyes shine with something Hal  _ knows  _ is David. Her body leans against the wall. David takes his hand off and the woman regains her senses, shaking off the lingering fog. She blinks, heavy. “Woah…” She says. David gestures at her and she hands over a second gun. David takes it, and does just as she did, peeking the corner and firing. The woman joins him, and seconds later she grabs Hal's arm.

“Run?” David asks. 

“Run!” The woman confirms. They both break out into a sprint, right through the doors. Hal stumbles but gains his footing, running with his arm still in the woman’s grasp. They make it past guards only armed with batons, and Hal can see his friends out of the corner of his eye as he runs. He raises his hand in a wave before the woman tugs at his arm again, and he hurries to keep pace. They run up stairs, duck around barriers, jump gates, dodge security sensors, all moving as fast as possible. Hal has to be spurred on by pure adrenaline at this point, he’d never be able to keep up otherwise. 

The woman barely pauses and shoulder checks a rusting door with cameras in front of it. Hal blinks light out of his eyes and sees the remains of an eating area, a trashed counter with overturned tables and chairs, the ground littered with paper and broken glass. David takes the lead here, vaulting over the counter, and taking a path directly to the door. Hal is frozen in place, despite the insistent tugging and words of the woman. He’s… He’s outside. 

He takes a step outside the entrance to the facility. He can see dirt. He can see grass. He can see  _ the sky.  _ Through shattered windows, he can see the sky. The sun is barely cresting over the horizon. He can see the  _ sun.  _ Hal bites back a sob. It’s just as beautiful as he imagined. The air is fresh, not stale and recycled. There’s a slight morning breeze, fluttering the trash left on the ground. 

“Come  _ on!”  _ The woman shouts, breaking him out of his haze. He lifts a hand to his face, wiping away the tears blurring his vision. He follows her out the door, and in a stunning display of athleticism, the woman leaps over a car door without pause. She jams the key in, quickly starting it, and the smell of exhaust soon follows. David is already sitting in the backseat, looking at the sunrise with the same expression Hal imagines is on his face. The woman slams on the horn, and Hal once again breaks out of his stupor to open the backseat and scramble in. He hasn’t even buckled before the woman throws the car into drive and peels out of the parking lot so fast, his head slams back. 

Hal fumbles with his seatbelt, buckling in safely as they drive into the rising sun. He can hear shouts from behind them, and the fear of getting caught seizes him. What if they catch up? What are they going to do to him now that he’s escaped? Now that he’s let David out and they’ve seen the surface? David laughs, something bright and free, and Hal’s heart melts. 

This little taste of freedom was worth it. Even if they get caught, and he’s killed, at least they’re free. 

“Don’t worry,” the woman says. “I broke all the cars I could find.” 

Hal thinks of all the shows he’s seen. “Slashed their tires?” He guesses. 

The woman laughs, throwing a look into the backseat with the rearview mirror. “No, slashed the air valves. Don’t think they’ve got that many new tires.” 

Hal sits on that. It… makes sense. He still doesn’t know who this woman is, or why she helped them. Who in the world would help them? “Who are you?” he asks. “Why did you…” 

“Help you?” She finishes. “I’ve been dreaming of your friend. I did some looking, and well… My unit wasn’t treated too well by the Patriots. Neither were my friends.” She throws up a peace sign. “The name’s Sergeant Chris Jenner, Delta Force.” 

“Hal Emmerich,” He says. “Um, scientist? I guess?” 

Chris and David both laugh. He feels his face heat up. He looks over at David, and his face burns even brighter, quickly looking back out the window at the country speeding past. He shrugs off his labcoat and offers it to David, not looking back at his friend until he's draped the coat over his body. “I’m David.” David says. “Hal named me.” 

“Hal and Dave, huh…” Chris trails off. She chuckles to herself, almost as if she got a joke. Hal wonders if she understands why he named David what he did. “Well. What are you two going to do now? You’re free.” 

David looks up at that. “We’re going to rescue my--” and a noise that makes Hal see yellow and stars and teeth and flesh. Chris swerves on the road, obviously feeling the same thing that Hal did. 

“Let’s give that an English word, alright?” She says. “None of that talk until I’m off the road.” 

David nods. “Sibling, then.” He says. “We’re going to rescue my sibling.” 

Hal fidgets with his sweater. “Yeah.” He says. He didn’t think of what he was going to do once he reached the surface. But now he’s here. And now he’s got to start thinking. 

“Good plan.” Chris says. She runs a hand through her hair. “If you need a ride, I’d be willing.” 

“Why?” Hal can’t stop himself from asking. “Why would you help us? We haven’t done anything for you, we don’t have anything we can offer! I know the world is a little…” He trails off. A little destroyed. A little bombed. 

Chris shrugs. “I told you. I don’t like the Patriots.” She’s silent for a moment. “The apocalypse happened a long time ago. We’re all still picking up the pieces. And the Patriots want to put those pieces back in a puzzle that can’t fit them anymore.” 

“Thank you.” David says softly. Hal sees that he’s messing with the tail of his bandana. “We don’t want to hurt anyone.” 

“I know.” Chris says. 

And Hal looks to the rising sun, the warmth spreading through him more comforting than any blanket. He’s here. David’s here. Life may be tough up here, more difficult than where things were assured down below. But they’ve finally got the chance to live. And they’re going to live. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally, freedom! now it's time for the great roadtrip >;]   
> I hope everyone's ready for some gayboys + MORE obscure game characters because I spread mg and ghost babel propaganda on the regular   
> If you want art/have questions follow me on tumblr at JamLabs :] !


	4. the great (gay?) roadtrip part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> cw for body horror: paragraph begins with "david nods his head forward. Light shines through the trees...", minor body horror in describing how David gets rid of his more eldritch traits (ie extra eyes) beginning with "David looks him over, studying."

It takes them another hour of driving before Chris pulls over. She runs the Jeep off the road, carefully avoiding potholes and rubble as she does. The Jeep settles in between evergreens and Chris shifts the vehicle into park. She turns around into the back seat and exhales. “So. I’m sure you have questions.” She says. 

Hal nods, fervently. “So there _is_ a world outside? What is it like? What happened? I remember hearing the…” he swallows. He remembers the bombs. He remembers the terror. He remembers it all in excruciating detail. 

“Yeah,” David adds. He’s looking directly at Chris, but one of his eyes is looking back at Hal. It’s strange, but somehow endearing. “I’ve been stuck in there for a long time. I don’t know how much has changed.” 

Chris hums. “Well… I can only tell you what I know. I’m… the only survivor of my unit.” She taps the hollow triangle on her sleeve above the sigils designating her rank. “Delta Force. I’m the only one left. We had just set up camp after getting to Gindra. I was lucky. I had been out of camp when the bombs hit. I can’t really remember most of what happened. I remember my ears ringing, and I remember walking back into the remains of my camp. There was nothing left. No one was left alive.” She pauses, running a hand through her hair. “I managed to hitch a ride back to the States with a few other survivors. All these attacks were orchestrated by the Patriots, apparently. Some sort of power play that I don’t understand. Our entire section was bombed to hell, I don’t think anyone was spared… It’s the same for all the others I’ve talked to. Barely any survivors, all our bases and camps bombed to hell while we were still in them. I don’t pretend to understand.” 

Hal’s mouth is dry. He was supposed to be one of those people. He might have understood and accepted what happened, and thought it was for the better. Killing people as part of some huge game, as if the lives of people don’t mean anything and it’s only the exchange of power that does. That it’s only whatever the Patriots want that matters. He remembers what one of them said. That they had a being trapped in Washington, being used the same way his facility was using David. He doesn’t know. He just doesn’t know what they were thinking, what the plans were. He doesn’t know. A horrible thought hits him and he inhales sharply. “Did they drop nukes?” He asks, completely panicked by the thought of the surface being an irradiated wasteland.

“Probably.” She says, chuckling bitterly. “Can’t say that peace ended up holding too well once our former government started carpet bombing people in the name of “peace and security”. The world had been deteriorating for a long time, and this only accelerated it. All those corps tryin’ to monopolize everything, some sort of global conspiracy to get power, natural disasters ‘cause of worsening environmental conditions, all of it. It all just kinda hit at once after the bombs dropped.” She sighs. “Food’s real hard to find these days.” 

“So…” Hal motions to the not-quite man sitting next to him. “It’s not their fault?” 

Chris shakes her head. “It’s our fault.” She says. “We did this to ourselves.” Hal nods shakily. It makes sense. Despite his limited knowledge, he’s pretty sure Chris would have noticed something like David up and about. She did notice. She was the one who David reached out to. 

David tilts his head. “So… how many people are left?” He asks. “Do you know?” 

She shakes her head again. “No. I’m mostly on my own, but I do have a few friends in a settlement in Wyoming. They’re also like me, military survivors. A little weird, but who isn’t these days.” 

“A little weird?” Hal asks. He glances her over. She’s very pretty, there doesn’t seem to be anything weird about her. Just a little taller than most of the other women he’s met. 

David interrupts her answer. “Of course they are. Hal, you talked to _me._ You set me free, despite not knowing if I was hostile or not. That’s a little weird.” He chuckles. “And I was able to reach Chris from a long way away. I’ve touched both of you. You’re definitely beyond weird right now.” 

Hal laughs. That’s true… he _did_ let out an eldritch abomination. He _named_ it. He was inducted into what might have been a huge conspiracy. He escaped a secret facility under what seemed to be a restaurant. Speaking of… “Do you know why the Patriot base was where it was?” He asks. 

Chris exhales a laugh. “I have no idea why the Patriots, the people who have a hand in all this shit, the people who play chess with people’s lives, the people who have eldritch beings under their control have their top secret base under a goddamn _Dennys._ ” 

“In their defense,” David says. “It wasn’t a restaurant when I was sealed away. The Patriots stuck me in a rock after I tried to rescue my--” he glances at Chris, remembering what she said earlier. “My sibling. I tried to rescue my sibling and got lured into a trap.” He rubs at his chest. 

Hal reaches out and pats his leg. “It’s okay, David.” He says softly. “You didn’t know it was a trap.” 

David huffs. “I should have guessed. It was irresponsible of me to go alone.” 

Hal scoots closer to David. David looks at him with those electric blue eyes, and Hal meets them. His mind drifts, feeling as if he’s looking into the great void beyond, as if he’s witnessing galaxies and solar systems colliding. David breaks eye contact and takes his hand. Hal laces their fingers together, marveling at just how human-like it feels. There are calluses on his hands, little thin raised scars on the back. David frowns, turning his hand over. It’s still covered in blood. The cut he had to make to let David out has scabbed over, but he hasn’t washed the blood off his palm yet. There’s still blood on David’s palms. “It doesn’t hurt,” Hal says softly. “It was worth it.” 

David nods his head forward. Light shines through the trees and reflects off his horns. David is ethereally beautiful. His hand is raised up and Hal blushes as David leans down and murmurs something. It’s something soft, something that makes mint green stars burst behind his eyes. He watches with shock and awe as David’s fingers start to unravel. The flesh creeps off in little waves, rolling down his arms and to where he’s holding Hal’s hand. It inches towards the cut slowly. Hal doesn’t pull away. He can hear a sharp intake of breath, and he doesn’t know if it’s from him or from Chris. Tiny threads of David’s flesh run over his hand, overlapping and layering over each other. They slowly knit his hand back together, flowing in a mesmerizing dance of thread and rippling skin as the scab is replaced with tissue. The only indication that there was ever an injury is a pale line of scaring where the cut once lay. David pulls away, his fingers completely devoid of skin, the muscles visible for a brief moment before the flesh from his arms flows down and covers it, perfectly sealing with the same callouses, the same little nicks and scars that he had before. 

“There.” David says softly. He glances up. “I hope you don’t mind the scar… I could do it again and fix it completely.” 

“N-no,” Hal says. He brushes fingers along the scar. It’s so small… it definitely would have scarred worse if he let it heal naturally. “It’s fine, David. I actually… I actually like it. It’s… it’s a reminder that we escaped. Together.” He swallows, hoping it doesn’t sound weird. 

David blinks. “A reminder, huh…” He glances at the marks on his own body, the scars that he must have decided to put in. Or, Hal thinks, or scars that he’s kept as reminders of their own. 

“Yeah.” The back of his neck burns. It’s once again been brought to his attention that David’s not wearing clothes. And _wow,_ David is handsome. He’s really, really handsome. Hal knows that David probably chose the way he looks, and (in his opinion) he chose well. He looks perfect, and all those visible flaws just add to his charm. He’s beautiful. Even the extra eyes and horns somehow _work_ for him. 

Chris clears her throat and Hal jumps. “You guys ready to hit the road?” She says. “We’ve got a long trip ahead of us. Dave, you know where your sibling is?” 

David tilts his head, frowning. “I don’t know the exact location,” he says. “But I can feel the direction. It’s... “ He points in the direction where the sun rose. 

“To the east.” Chris starts the car up again, but not yet putting it back into gear. “We’re gonna have to camp out before we get there. You guys okay with that?” Hal nods, and sees David do the same. “It’s two days minimum to camp. Probably gonna take longer ‘cause I’m going to have to get fuel somewhere, and who knows what kind of interruptions we’ll run into...” Chris sighs. Hal guesses that it’s probably really hard to get fuel for your car when no one’s delivering it. 

“Fuel?” David asks. 

“Yeah, I need gas to run this baby.” She pats the dash of the Jeep affectionately. She really seems to like her car. “It fuels the engine, combustion and all that.” 

David’s brow crinkles, his bandana wrinkling as he does. “I see.” He says. Hal doesn’t think he does. It looks like he has something in mind, but Hal doesn’t know what it is. “And… humans need to eat, don’t they?” 

“Do you?” 

David shakes his head. “No, not really. I get my energy from people.” He looks between the two of them. “At least, that’s what I remember.” 

Hal leans down and picks up his bag. “I-I couldn’t get any food… but I do have clothes…?” 

Chris breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank god. I don’t know if any of my stuff would fit you.” She glances at David. “Speaking of, we’ve got to get him something to wear. I think I passed an encampment that might be able to help.” 

Hal nods. “David, can you…” He gestures at the halo-like horns that frame David’s face. “Can you put those away when we reach there? I don’t want you to get hurt…” 

David’s brow furrows and there’s a strange ripple in the air. Light bends unnaturally around him, being absorbed into the small pockets of what almost looks like rot that dot the left side of his neck, shoulders and chest, shining through parts of his body as if it were glass filled with shadows. The horns vanish with a _whoosh_ of displaced air. David looks expectantly at Hal with far too many eyes. “Good?” He asks. 

Hal nods. Every little glimpse and reminder that David doesn’t follow the rules that he’s known for so long to be unalterable, that he’s not something from this planet, and maybe not even this plane of reality, should frighten him. But it doesn’t. It makes him even more enamoured, even more drawn to his friend. He wants to see what David can do. He wants to see everything that David is, here, on Earth. Solid and whole. “You don’t have to do it now,” he says. “Just… just when we’re around other people.” 

He glances at Chris. She seems just as enthralled as he is. She sees the same beauty in David that he does. There’s a spark of oranges in her brown eyes. A surge of protectiveness blooms in his chest. This is _his_ friend. David was _his_ friend first, even if Chris did save them. The woman clears her throat and the spark fades into her eyes. “You boys ready?” 

“Ready.” David says, letting his horns fade back into view. Chris turns back to face forwards, and puts her Jeep into gear, pulling out from between the evergreens and rumbling back up onto the main road. She gives a cursory glance that Hal privately thinks is unnecessary. There’s no sound other than the wind rushing through the trees and animals living around them. Not a single rumble of an engine other than their own, no sound of tires on pavement. Chris has lost the bandana she used to cover her face when she broke into the facility, and pulls her coat off now that the sun has started to come up. The light green shirt underneath is a far cry from the dark purple uniform jacket that hid it. She opens a compartment in the front and flicks open a pair of sunglasses. She glances in the rearview mirror and Hal feels very self conscious in his sweater. He’s the only one wearing long sleeves. 

“Don’t worry about it, Hal.” She says, almost as if sensing his anxiety. “You’re fine. I’m just getting more comfortable. Since I’m the only one out of the three of us who knows how to drive, I’m going to be pulling long hours.” 

“Oh.” Hal says. “Sorry…” 

“Don’t apologize,” She says. “You were trapped underground for who knows how many years. You didn’t get much practice.” She tips down her sunglasses and he can see her wink through the mirror. His face burns bright red. 

David chuckles, reaching over to pat Hal’s leg. “Yeah, no worries Hal. I’ll keep you company while she drives.” His face somehow burns brighter, and he feels like burying himself in his sweater and never coming out. David’s expression suddenly grows curious and he points to the buttons in the middle of the car. “What are those for?” 

Instead of answering, Chris presses in on a button, and _music_ begins to play. A jaunty sort of rhythm, something that makes Hal want to tap his foot. She turns the knob and suddenly the music is a lot louder. Chris grins and begins to sing. “ _Talking away~ I don’t know what, what to say, I’ll say it anyway--_ C’mon boys! This is such a classic!” 

He may have been gifted with anime and movies, but Hal hasn’t heard music like this before. It’s so different then the OPs he’s used to listening to, a completely different style of music. “I--I’ve never heard this before!” He stammers. Chris only grins. 

“Then you’ve got a lot of catching up to do!” She twists the knob again and turns the music up louder. David’s eyes have gone wide with excitement, his hands patting his legs in time, his shoulders bobbing as he listens. By the time the second verse has come around, David actually _joins her._

“ _Take on me,”_ He sings, his deep voice gradually transitioning higher as the song does. Chris whoops and sings with him, a “take on me!” Backing up David’s vocals. “ _Take me on!”_

 _“I’ll be gone,”_ They sing together, and Hal watches as they lock eyes in the mirror, matching grins on their faces as the song reaches its peak. “ _In a day or, twooo!”_

Hal can’t help but smile. The sheer joy that he sees from David as he absorbs the lyrics that come blaring out of the speakers and from Chris is infectious, and soon he’s joining in the little limited dance David’s doing as he listens. When the song ends, David gasps. “That’s the end?” He asks. 

“Yep!” Chris says. “You wanna listen to something else, or _Take On Me_ again?” 

David hesitates for a split second and a new song begins to play. Gentle plucking of guitars makes him pause, and a drum beat makes him sit up. A few lines later that Chris only hums along to there’s a sharp blast of electric guitars, and David’s eyes go wide again. “This,” he says quickly. Chris chuckles as it launches into a part that she clearly knows. 

“ _It’s more than a feeling, more than a feeling!”_ she sings. “ _When I hear that old song that they used to play! I begin dreaming, more than a feeling~!”_

David catches on even quicker, and joins her in the chorus for the rest of the song. He ends up catching up with some of the other lyrics and every time the low energy is brought back to high guitars and drums he seems so much happier.

“ _Heat Of The Moment_ ’s next,” Chris says, before the song has even ended. “If you like rock, you’ll definitely like that one.” 

The next song is loud and full of energy and Chris really seems to like this one, moving along with the song as she sings. She occasionally locks eyes with David in the backseat, and David joins her once he figures out the words. They continue down the road that way for hours, song after song after song playing, no repeats and no interruption, only uninterrupted and pure rock music. Hal gets into it, really into it. He’s never heard any of these songs before and they’re so _energetic,_ so full of life and perfect, and hearing David sing along with Chris, not even caring if they get the words wrong or sound ridiculous. The sun has risen above the horizon at this point, and Hal alternates between watching David and staring out the windows at the world that passes by them. He sees forests and bushes, and little sprouts pushing their way out of the grass. He sees the remains of a huge highway system, concrete boulders scattered around collapsed pillars and tangled up wires. He sees a lake and watches as a bird soars down from the sky and makes a water landing. He sees vultures in the air, he sees songbirds in the trees, he sees the creeping of ivy over old structures long abandoned. It’s all so beautiful.

Eventually Chris reaches over and turns the music down. David looks at her in confusion, and she gestures ahead. “We’re approaching our first stop.” She glances back at Hal. “Help him disguise, if you would? No horns, no eyes, and no holes. We need him to look as human as possible.” 

Hal snaps to attention and nods, turning to David and taking his hands in his own. “Can you do that? I need you to look like me.” He says softly. “No horns, only two eyes… can you do it?” 

David looks him over, studying. He nods once, his horns vanishing and air rushing to fill the void. Hal watches as he closes all his eyes except for the ones right under his bandana. Hal watches, morbidly curious as the eyelid fuses with the skin under it, smoothing over and making him look almost normal. The one eye, the one with the double iris, doesn’t blink as the irises merge together, the pupils coming together first and the color following soon after. Skin smoothes over most of the noticeable holes, but some still remain despite David’s best efforts. He breathes out, looking strained. “I won’t have to hold this for long, will I?” He asks. 

“No,” Hal promises. “We’re just getting you clothes and getting out.” 

Chris pulls up to the shattered remains of a curbside at a similarly destroyed house.. She glances up at the wooden splinters, shrugs, and pulls her coat back on. “Give me the other gun,” She tells David. David hands it over silently, and she tucks it back into a holster at her waist. “Alright. This town is pretty small, so we probably won’t have trouble. If things go wrong, get Hal back here.” She ties the bandana back around her face, and picks up a bag from the passenger seat. “Just clothes, and fuel if we can.” 

Both men nod and follow behind Chris as she gets out and locks up the car. She leads them into the town. People give them a wide berth, some looking strangely at David. David shrinks closer to Hal, the labcoat he used to cover up in the car now tied around his waist. Chris leads them to a series of tents set up, and knocks at a wooden post. “Hey,” She says. “You got more clothes?” 

The man inside responds indistinctly. Hal thinks he might have heard a curse of some kind before the tent flaps open. “What do you-- Jesus Christ!” He points at Hal and David. “That man doesn’t have anything!” 

“Yep.” Chris says. “You see why I came back?” The man nods, looking David over with a keen eye. David shifts, looking uncomfortable. 

“Where’d you find this guy?” The stranger mutters. “He barely looks scratched up at all.” 

Chris shrugs one shoulder. Hal decides to pipe up at this point. “C… can we just get what we came for…?” He asks. 

The guy laughs. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry, just my curiosity getting the better of me again.” He retreats back into the tent and emerges with an armful of clothes. He hands them to Chris, who hands them to Hal, who hands them to David. 

David glances at Hal. “Put them on,” Hal whispers. David nods and gives everything but a shirt back to Hal. He pulls it on over his head. It seems to fit relatively well, albeit a little tight. But Hal really doesn’t mind the view, if he’s being honest. David doesn’t seem uncomfortable either, so that’s a plus. He hands over the rest of the clothes and lets David try things on. He points out what goes where, and they end up with a nice pile of clothes that fit David well enough. Chris opens up the bag she’d been carrying and pulls out a hand knitted scarf, a bedsheet, and some sort of tarp material. 

“Those good for trade?” She asks. The man inspects her offerings and nods, giving the tarp back. She tucks it back away. “Fuel?” 

“I know the settlers in Vegas have a fuel synthesizer up and running,” he says. “Probably can buy some stuff off them. Stay safe, Delta.” 

She gives him a salute and gestures for Hal and David to follow. Hal absorbs everything he sees on the way back. Every tent seems to be patched up by hand, a plastic tarp covering some of them, presumably to keep the rain out. There are some homes built out of wood and rubble, and he sees people tending to sheep and other livestock. He sees a farm, and he sees people working on it. He sees fruit trees growing, and he sees kids running and laughing. Everyone here seems… happy. They have their own little town, their own society that keeps them fed and warm. 

They reach the Jeep and file back inside. Chris starts up the car and gets back on the road quickly, leaving the little town behind. Once they’re at least five minutes away from the town, she pulls her bandana down and exhales. Hal’s brow furrows. “Why do you sound so relieved?” He asks. “They seemed happy. They had food and homes! They had children!” 

Chris winces. “It’s… personal.” She says softly. Hal turns away from her, watching as David’s features slowly return to what’s normal for him. Eyes coming back into view, his horns sliding back into their customary halo. 

“Oh.” He says. Chris shakes her head. 

“It’s okay, you didn’t know.” She reaches over and turns the music back on, clearly signalling an end to the conversation. She’s quieter as she drives, her energy much more subdued. Hal ends up landwatching again, seeing other towns soar past, seeing things that he’s never seen before. More lakes, rivers and streams, faults in the earth that luckily don’t cross their path, all sorts of huge and beautiful plants. There are trees that scrape the sky, plants with leaves that could probably serve him as an umbrella, scatterings of flowers across the mossy forest floor. He’s quiet, even as his two companions do the best to fill the silence with music. The music has looped once, and now that David knows what to expect, he seems even more enthused to sing along in that rough voice. Hal’s head hits his arms and he starts to nod off. 

He’s tired. These hours have felt like days, and he’s finally letting everything catch up to him. He feels something drape over his shoulders and cracks open his eyes to look. It’s David, putting his labcoat back over him as a makeshift blanket. He lets himself take a quick nap, and by the time he wakes up, the sun is actually starting to go behind them. David says something, something he can’t understand while so tired. He yawns, stretching out his back, and scratches his head. “Mmrh…” 

David chuckles, something low and welcoming. “Aren’t those noises my kind of thing?” He teases. Hal swats at him, sleep still clouding his vision. 

“Did we-- mhh… Did we make it to Vegas…?” He asks. 

“Yeah,” David answers. “I’m sorry you missed it…” 

“Not much to miss.” Chris says, voice clipped. Hal looks behind them and can almost see lights in the distance. “All we did was get more fuel. Topped her off, and got more cans.” 

Hal sees David’s eyes narrow. “And?” He prompts. 

Chris huffs. “I was gonna make it a surprise, Dave.” She gestures into the passenger seat. “And I got more music. And some… other stuff, for you.” 

David beams. “We got these things called tapes,” He tells Hal. “Chris says they’re old, but they can be put into these machines with headphones that let you listen to them! And we have something called CDs for the car!” 

“Great!” Hal laughs. He’s really happy that David’s found something that interests him. He glances up at the sky. “How long have we been on the road?” He asks. 

“Close to seven hours,” She says. “I’m gonna have to pull off in a few more, I’m starting to get tired.” 

Hal perks up. “Wait!” He says. Chris glances back at him. “Can’t David just do that thing he did while we were escaping?” He asks. 

“That thing…?” David asks. 

“Yeah, that thing where you touched her head and suddenly you knew how to operate a weapon!” 

David pauses, considering it. “I might…?” He says. “I just…” he looks down at his lap, lacing his hands together. “I don’t want to hurt her. I’d have to touch a lot of memories, a lot of her mind. I don’t know how much I can do without…” 

“Without breaking.” Hal whispers. He understands. “Okay,” he says. “That’s off the table then.” 

“I’d be willing to try.” Chris says. 

David starts before scowling. “No. I won’t do it. I don’t know what it’ll do to you!” 

Hal looks between the two of them. There’s something about Chris he doesn’t understand. Why would one woman, armed with only pistols and a jacket, charge straight into a Patriot facility? Why would she offer to try even with the looming threat of David being too much? He doesn’t know. He once again stays quiet as they drive through a new environment, completely flat land and sand and red dirt. He doesn’t like it as much as the forest, he thinks. He can see different birds, and animals that look much larger than what his textbooks suggested. He can see new plants, new flowers blooming despite the environment. At some point Chris hands back a book for him, and he quickly finds himself engrossed in the pages. The book isn’t anything special, just a paperback with faded lettering and picked pages, but Hal finds it a welcome way to pass the time. Eventually, after the clock in the Jeep’s radio reads past 17:00, they pull off the road and Chris parks the car. 

She lies back in the seat and sighs. “Do either of you know how to set up a tent?”

“No…” Hal says. He feels horrible. He hasn’t been able to do anything to help so far. He feels useless. David must have noticed because he takes Hal’s hands in his own. 

“It’s okay Hal. I’m sure we can figure it out.” David opens the door and hops out, going to the back of the vehicle. “I guess it’s in here…?” 

“The red bag.” Chris calls. “Assemble the poles. Slide the black poles into the black rings, and the orange poles into the orange rings. Stake it down and put the rain cover over it.” She sighs, closing her eyes. 

Hal hops out too, and hurries to help David. They pull the fabric out of the bag, Hal finding a reasonably flat piece of ground to set up on. He slides together the poles with a satisfying click, and he and David put them through the associated rings. There’s one pole that goes through the middle, but it’s so much shorter than the others it works easily. Once the tent is fully assembled, they set it down and stake it into the ground, and then cover it with the other fabric. Hal dusts off his hands and stands, proud of being able to do this. “Good job!” David says, pulling Hal into a hug. Hal laughs, a blush quickly rising to his cheeks at the friendly contact. He pulls away, almost reluctant to do so. David holds him at arm length, beaming up at him. There’s a sound from behind him and he yelps, David’s eyes snapping open and immediately going to the source. 

“Woah, easy…” Chris says, holding her hands up. She’s got a few cans of something nestled in her arm, and a combat knife held loosely in one hand and a cast-iron frying pan in the other. “It’s just me.” 

David settles, and she hands one of the cans over to Hal. It’s filled with meat, apparently. “Should we set up a fire?” He asks. Chris shakes her head, motioning back to the car. “I’ve got sleeping bags and a propane stove in there. Bring ‘em both over and I’ll get cooking.” 

It takes but a minute for David to come back with a small stove and sleeping bags. There are three. Hal stares. “You got three?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” She says, sitting down and cutting open her cans with the knife and pouring the meat into the pan, but leaving canned green beans to the side. She hooks up the propane, turns on the stove and turns back to Hal. “When David found me, and actually started _talking_ to me, I figured I should bring extra.” She gently punches his shoulder. “David talked about you, you know.” 

Hal looks down at the can clutched in his hands. David talked about _him._ Something so powerful, something that could touch the minds of others, decided that he was worth talking about. “Oh,” he says softly. “I didn’t know he did.” 

David sits down beside him. “Of course I did.” He says. An arm finds its way around Hal’s waist, and David’s head rests on his side, positioned so the horns that are starting to glow faintly in the vanishing sun aren’t touching him. “You named me. You gave me companionship, even though you didn’t have to.” The arm around his waist squeezes once. Hal looks back up and turns his gaze to David. 

“I wanted to.” He says. He had to get out of that place, and David helped him. David is his friend. He didn’t have to let David out, he didn’t have to start talking to the thing in his dreams. He didn’t have to become its friend. But he did. He wanted the same thing David did, companionship and camaraderie and someone who understands. 

The stove turns off with a soft click, but Hal doesn’t look. He’s too engrossed with David, their silent communication of safety and friendship and understanding holding his full attention. By the time the spell breaks, the sun has set. The food is still hot on the pan, but Chris is gone. He sees something moving in the tent and assumes it’s her. He eats, and uses the soft glow of David’s horns to pack everything back into the trunk of the Jeep. He sits down on the back, and looks up at the stars. They’re beautiful. Magnificent and large and so very far away. David sits next to him and looks up with him. 

“Do you miss home?” Hal asks. He gestures up at the stars, the stars and planets that David’s shown him in his dreams. 

“No.” David says. “That’s just where I came from. Home is a place that’s made.” Hal looks at him with wide eyes. His heartbeat picks up a notch. Is David trying to say that his home is here, on Earth, with Hal?

He swallows. “It’s beautiful.” He can see nebulae spread across the clear night sky. David takes his hand and points it towards a star brighter than the others. 

“You know what that is?” He says softly. Hal shakes his head. “That’s Jupiter. We’ve made it.” 

They’re not out among the stars, their feet are still firmly planted on Earth, but it feels like they’ve made it all the way there. He can see the bright spot of the planet, and he knows that no matter what happens, he and David are going to stick together through it all. Wherever they go, whatever they do, he’s going to stay with the thing that he named, the planet a silent promise shining brightly above them. “We've made it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey folks!! I'm back in school so my free time is whooshing away again, but hopefully you enjoy this chapter!! It's a bit longer to make up for the wait, I hope ;]  
> for those who don't know, Gindra is a fictional country in south africa that was the place of the galude intrusion in metal gear ghost babel, the game Chris is from :]] pretty sure it's also where the outer heaven uprising happened but don't quote me on that  
> if you've got questions or just like the story, leave a comment! it really helps motivate me to write!!  
> Come bother me at my tumblr JamLabs!


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